Considered by many the
first edition of the Festival and, by others, the second one, the 1959 festival
was a bit of both.

The Festival was held
thanks to the impulse given to local cinema in 1954 and to the impression international
cinema left on Mar del Plata. This Festival shared some features with the first
exhibition, such as the period during which it took place: it was held between
March 8th and 14th, 1954 and, even though this edition
lasted longer, it was also held during the last days of summer.

Apart from these
similarities, the 1959 edition had something that made it different from its
predecessor, since it was no longer an Exhibition but a competitive Festival.

Organized by the
Argentine Film Critics Association, this edition introduces Juries and Awards.
International delegations and local celebrities not only got together in the
city of Mar del Plata to share their works but also to compete.

Year after year, the
awards will get renown and the Festival will grow to become the most important
in Latin America. In 1959, the official statuette was named El Gaucho, a creation by sculptor
Pascual Buigues.